Scouting Alabama
Alabama, ranked No. 4 in both polls, enters the game with a record of 11-1 and winners of two straight after opening the SEC schedule with a 61-51 win over Arkansas Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Crimson Tide’s only loss of the season was a 51-49 defeat at Utah that came on the day Alabama moved to the No. 1 spot in the nation in the AP poll.

Sophomore guard Maurice Williams leads the team with 15.7 points and 3.6 assists per game. Senior forward/center Erwin Dudley, who is the only player in the SEC to be averaging double figures in both scoring and rebounding, is second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per contest and his team-leading 10.5 rebounds per contest is tops in the SEC by 1.8 boards per game.

Just as this year, Vanderbilt and Alabama met in the second SEC game of last season with the Tide claiming a 92-79 win in Tuscaloosa. In that game, Alabama outshot the Commodores by 30 at the free-throw line, making 26 more.

Three...Dot...Data vs. Auburn
Auburn shot 50 percent from the field for the game after Vanderbilt had only allowed one team this season to shoot 50 percent or better in even a half (Notre Dame, 1st Half)...In addition to allowing Auburn to shoot 50 percent, Vanderbilt’s 37.1 percent shooting was the third lowest of the season and the Commodores still only lost by three points on the road...Jason Holwerda had a career-high with six assists and his five rebounds is just one off a career-best mark...In all five losses this season, Vanderbilt has failed to outrebound its opponent...Against Auburn, there were 16 ties and nine lead changes...The Commodores did not make a field goal in the final 3:55 versus Auburn...Points in the paint: VU 28, AU 38...Points off turnovers: VU 24, AU 6...Second-chance points: VU 9, AU 14...Fast-break points: VU 0, AU 2.

Vanderbilt-Alabama Game Time Changed
The Southeastern Conference office permitted Vanderbilt to change the game time for the Vanderbilt-Alabama men’s basketball game from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Despite the change in tipoff time, the game will still be broadcast on Fox Sports South. The change was done in an effort to avoid a conflict with Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. Tennessee Titans playoff game in Nashville.

Thornton Continues to Set Scoring Records
Sophomore Brian Thornton set his career high in scoring for the fourth time this season with 23 points at Auburn, including 19 in the second half alone. He got to his record on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, while playing just 22 minutes. He also grabbed six boards.

Entering the season, Thornton’s career-best was 17 points. He scored 18 points against Georgia Southern and East Tennessee, 20 points against Tulane and 22 points versus High Point.

Hundley Gives Vanderbilt Quality Play in Back-to-Back
Games Scott Hundley had a good past week with solid performances against College of Charleston and at Auburn. Against College of Charleston, he scored six points, which was the most for him since scoring 11 versus Connecticut. Hundley then came back to score nine points at Auburn on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, 1-of-1 from threepoint range and 2-of-2 from the line.

In addition to his scoring, Hundley showed his all-around game against College of Charleston as he tied a career-high with five assists to go along with no turnovers. For the season, he is fifth in the SEC in assist/turnover ratio with 2.67 assists for every turnover.

Thornton vs. Killingsworth
After Auburn took a 28-23 halftime lead Wednesday, the second half became a battle between Vanderbilt’s Brian Thornton and Auburn’s Marco Killingsworth. In the second half, Thornton and Killingsworth both made eight of their respective team’s 14 field goals.

Killingsworth, who had just two points at the intermission, scored the first basket in the second half and went on to finish with 16 secondhalf points and 18 for the game. Thornton, who had just four points in the first, answered Killingsworth’s opening basket with two buckets of his own en route to scoring 19 second-half points and a career-high 23 for the game.

Terrell Ranks Among SEC’s Top Freshmen
Freshman forward Julian Terrell ranks in the top five of SEC freshmen in three statistical categories. Among SEC freshmen, Terrell is second in blocks (0.83), fourth in rebounds (4.1) and fifth in field goal percentage (.463).

Complete Notes